A Matter of Pride

by Kaye Draper

  He turned to Hisashi. "Fox? Do you want your clothes? Or are you taking the kimono? I know Gesa would love to have you wear it again sometime."

  Everyone in the room stared at Oisin like he was speaking another language. Then, slowly, Hisashi started laughing. It started softly, full of disbelief. Then it grew to a deep guffaw, making tears stream down his face. Kai seemed to catch whatever was wrong with him, because she threw back her head and barked a laugh. Con looked puzzled. Oisin was rummaging around to find Hisashi's things, but he was smiling the whole time. I was lost.

  I was also having trouble holding back my shift. My gryphon was really fucking angry, the power of the animal inside me pushing against my will, stronger than ever before…. I met Hisashi's eyes and gasped when I felt it. A piece of something that shouldn't be there. A power that wasn't mine. And it was attached to the gryphon part of me—to my own innate magic—a cord leading back to the fox. "What…?"

  Hisashi whipped back the sheet and stood, flashing his entire assembled family, a wave of new confidence rippling from him. "I'll take my real clothes, please Oisin," he said, holding out a hand for his stuff, then proceeding to get dressed in his jeans and faded t-shirt. "Bring the kimono, though. Since you're both so fond of it." He winked at me and grinned.

  The elders were not amused by any of this. The leader stomped her foot to get our attention. "The outsiders will leave. Hisashi, you know you can't leave your shrine, or you'll die and leave the clan powerless, stupid child."

  I watched with a grin of my own as Hisashi walked over to the honored elder and clapped her on the shoulder, making the rest of his family gasp in offended shock. "Watch me, grannie."

  He took the duffel bag from Oisin, the gaudy silk kimono sticking out the top, where Oisin had stuffed it like a rag. Then he turned and headed to the door. "Come on, guys. I want to be back home before lunch. I need some of Con's homemade soba. He does it better than anyone around here."

  I chuckled at that. Hisashi's sister looked like he had just suggested we all go eat dog shit. But I'm sure Hisashi was right. Con's cooking was better than the authentic stuff. Because it was magic.

  We stepped outside and I took a deep breath of warmer-than-it-should-be winter air. We weren't high enough up in the mountains for snow. It was weird. It would be good to get back home to Michigan, where things were properly frigid.

  "You can't leave here!" The head elder called after us as we headed out of the village. "You'll weaken and die, foolish nine-tail."

  Hisashi turned back to her. "You know, that might be right. If someone hadn’t hurried up and performed the binding ritual when I wasn't paying attention. You have no one to blame but yourself, old woman. The spell did what it said it would. It bound my powers to my home. To my family." He gave her the most shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen. It was breathtaking. "To my pride, my mates, and my alpha.” He saluted her. "So, thanks for that. See you later."

  "Foolish child," the elder called. "With your power tied to such lowly creatures, you risk everything. What would happen if they die or are taken from you?"

  Hisashi just shook his head. "You still think I care about my fucking power. I don't."

  He turned to walk away, and we followed. I didn't know much about spells and rituals and bindings, because my magic didn't work that way. But I did know one thing that all magic users repeated in warning. Magic was a tricky thing. Dangerous. Words and actions might mean something other than what you thought they meant. Often, it was intention that was important. For example, what one person meant when they said "home" might mean something completely different to someone else.

  For Hisashi, in the moment they'd cast that damned spell, home meant belonging and love. It wasn't a physical place for him, when he was there, in bed with his mates, feeling our love and our magic around him. The Miyamoto clan of kitsune had really fucked themselves over by being a bunch of sneaky assholes.

  Thank the Gods.

  "Hisashi, please!" It was his mother's voice, and it carried over the chaos that was erupting around us as the others realized what had happened. What they had just lost. "We're your clan."

  His father was at the woman's side, pulling her in with an arm around her shoulders as she sobbed. "What will happen to the clan?"

  Personally, my answer would have been "who the fuck cares?" But Hisashi hesitated. He froze there, expressions waring on his face as he tried to figure out how to be free and how to be a good son at the same time.

  I felt for him. Sometimes that was just fucking impossible. But he cared about that shit more than I did. He'd been raised with the belief that family honor was the most important thing, his only reason for living.

  "You must stay here," one of the elders insisted. "Bring your mates. We can make exceptions. But we need you. The clan will fall without your power. “She glanced at her fellow elders. “We are dwindling, growing weaker every year. Your power was meant to save the clan, Hisashi. The kitsune, here and elsewhere, are dying out. You know this."

  He closed his eyes and I distinctly heard him mutter "fuck my life."

  Oisin waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "Good riddance. Let them go extinct."

  I elbowed the fae asshole. Not that I didn't kind of agree with him, but still. Hisashi cared. So, we needed to pretend to care too. Plus, you know, there was that whole being a decent person…thing.

  "No," Hisashi said on a long sigh. "I won't force them to uproot themselves. I like the life I'm building, out there," he waved a hand. "You don't get to take that away from me. Not this time."

  It was tense as fuck as Hisashi stared down generations of tradition.

  Kai ruined it by pulling out her damned cell phone and pressing it to her ear. "Yeah," she answered, eyes still on Hisashi. "What? Why would he do that? If I tell him, are you going to make him pay with his body? Because that's not fair. I haven't even had a turn."

  I growled at her and Kai grinned, now that she had everyone's attention. "Oh, sorry. Hisashi, phone call for you. Don't get seduced."

  The fox frowned, but held out his hand. "What?" he growled into the phone. Then he heaved a sigh. "Uh-huh. Fuck no, I'm not staying here! Fine. Yeah, yeah. I'll tell her. Okay, I'm telling her right now, for fuck's sake Orion, chill out."

  He shook his head, and spoke to me, phone still pressed to his face so the incubus could hear him. "Gesa, the demon says get the hell back home now or he's going to start pulling us back himself." He rolled his eyes at the chatter that erupted on the other end of the line. "Okay, for fuck's sake, I'm busy here. I will tell Gesa to sort out her fucking mage. Gods. Yes. I'll do that too. Anything else, boss?"

  He finally ended the call and faced a seriously impatient village. "I'll come back. One time a year. You can draw from my power for one day. That's all you get. It will be enough to keep you all growing and prospering—at least that's what I've been, uh…told. But I swear to hell, if you so much as look at me the wrong way, the deal's off. You'd better damned well remember you need me to exist."

  The elders sputtered, but Hero stepped forward and shook his brother's hand. "On behalf of the Miyamoto clan, since they're all idiots, I accept. Fae?" He turned to Oisin.

  The fae smirked and waved a hand over their clasped hands, a warm rush of magic flaring to life. "Promise spoken."

  I'd never seen a fae bargain sealed in person. It was so simple. But they'd be in a world of hurt if they reneged.

  "Thank fuck," Hisashi muttered. "Time to go." He half-shifted and turned to the pride. "Hop on the crazy train, guys, we're going home."

  We all shared a look, but no one hesitated before we each grabbed a fluffy white tail. At least we knew Orion and White could yank our asses out of trouble if they had to. For another favor.

  Oisin stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on Hisashi, earning more muttering from his uptight, traditional family. "Happy birthday, fox," the fae purred, before we were yanked into the otherworld.

  Chapter 14

  I was feeling pretty dam
ned optimistic once we got home. The bookstore was still standing, Hisashi could never try to leave the pride again, and no one was broken or bleeding. I'd call that a big win, for me.

  Con and Kai went off to relieve Halstad of guard duty, and I had to put up with more of him and Oisin's death threats toward each other, but no one ended up stabbed, so again, a win.

  That night, Halstad set the wards on the girl's house so we could all go for a midnight run. Shifting was healing, for all of us. And we needed to burn off some stress. Con stayed behind to make us all snacks, since he had no desire to freeze his balls off in the woods at night. But I chose to see that as another win, because snacks.

  We all piled into Halstad's Rover. Kai filled the mage in on what had happened. She said she and Con had woken up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night, with the odd sensation that Hisashi was beside them, like a very vivid dream where they could feel the touch of his power. They hadn't thought much of it, and hadn't talked about it, until the next morning. It seemed Hisashi wasn't just tied to me and Oisin, but to all of us.

  Halstad gave the fox a strange look as he pulled off the side of the road near the dark woods. But all he said was "you feel okay now, kid?"

  Hisashi smiled at him, sly as a fox, still oozing that otherworldly vibe he'd acquired. "I feel great, old man. You?"

  The mage grunted and opened his door. "Well, just remember, being tied to someone like that…it can come back to bite you in the ass if something happens to them."

  He slammed the door and we all scrambled out into the cold, snow-scented night.

  I watched with wary tension as Halstad came to walk next to Oisin. They mostly avoided each other, preferring to not even be in the same room. Oisin didn't pull out his sharp stabby things when the mage came up beside him, but I saw him thinking about it. "Did you get a power boost from the fox's binding?" Halstad said in his gravelly voice.

  Kai walked faster, probably not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. I dropped back, ready to shift if I needed to.

  Oisin glared at the mage. "Are you implying I orchestrated this? I'm not a mage. I don't go around using other people for parts."

  Halstad scowled, but he didn't start swinging. "I was going to ask if you needed any help adjusting. If you're depleted, and you take in someone else's damn magic, it can fuck things up."

  Oisin sneered. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

  I rolled my eyes. "For fuck's sake."

  The two men had stopped walking and if Oisin was a few inches taller, they'd be nose to nose. "You just can't accept help, can you, cupcake?" Halstad growled.

  Oisin's green eyes glowed. "Not from a fucking vulture. Whose eyes did you carve out to boost your own power in your time of need, mage?"

  Halstad ground his teeth together. "My best friend."

  Then he turned and tromped off into the woods after Kai.

  I stared after him. "Jesus, Buddha, and Odin."

  Oisin snorted. "Now you know why you should never trust a mage. If that's what happens to his friends, imagine what he'd do to his lover, all just for a little power boost."

  Shimmering magic washed over the fae as he shifted, the glorious stag trotting off into the woods with a haughty snort.

  I ignored him. I was pretty sure Halstad didn't plan to add gryphon wings to his Vanhelsing look.

  Probably.

  I caught up with the others and tried to salvage the night with a good run. I wasn't going to let this ruin my optimism. Kai was carrying a furry ferret when I reached her, cooing endearments to Halstad and teasing him about how she liked short men. There was hope for the mage still. He might be a big thorn in Oisin's side, but I knew, instinctively, he belonged here with us.

  Oisin would get over his pissiness, eventually. Maybe once Halstad stopped acting like he was a big, bad, asshole and shared his real self with us. I knew there was more to the mage than he let on. First thing tomorrow morning, I was calling the mage guild to set up an appointment to petition for a mage contract.

  Everything was going to be okay.

  Chapter 15

  Halstad lingered outside the bookstore. The others had all gone inside, but he needed a minute to pull himself together, away from their wards and bonds and Godsdamned…feelings.

  When the pride all left to get the fox, he was sure they wouldn't come back in time. Trusting other people with something as fragile as your heart, something as fucking stupid as hope was just asking for disappointment and pain. He'd learned that lesson years ago. So, he prepared himself for return to the tool bin. To the mage guild.

  He ran a hand over his face, closing his stolen eyes as he thought of their owners. Caring about other people—fucking loving them—was stupid. He couldn't believe his weak, stupid heart was so set on wanting to belong here. Wanting to stay.

  Mages didn't get to stay anywhere. They were bought up by the guild, trained as tools or weapons, and rented out to the highest bidder. But the mage guild never outright sold a mage. That might end in a free mage, which was far too dangerous.

  Other supes feared mages. A mage was different from them. Born human, but with just a little something other. Not human. Not fully supe. They couldn't be neatly boxed up into "us" or "them." So, no one gave a damn if a whole race of people was basically made into slaves. It was for their own safety, of course. Rogue mages were a danger to themselves and others. The guild took care of mages. Kept them safe from exploitation by finding them honest work.

  People will believe any lie, if they want ignorant bliss bad enough.

  But the gryphon had come back, like she said she would. She was going to go to the guild and buy his contract. He let himself hope.

  It hurt to let that emotion in, but damn it, he was tired. He wanted a home. Even one where he had to deal with the racism of one little fae. It was better than anything else he'd known in his life. His contract would run out again, and they'd have to figure out how to keep renewing it, but he'd find a way.

  Sighing, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and went for a walk around the block, trying to settle his mind. It was dark, the little town mostly asleep in the wee hours of the night, unlike a bigger place, where the hustle and bustle never seemed to stop. He breathed in the cool, snow-scented air, boots scuffing over the old-timey brick sidewalk.

  He felt it a hell of lot later than he should have. His damned senses were dulled by his stupid worrying and wondering. Served him right for being distracted. And for getting his hopes up.

  Halstad was a powerful motherfucker, even among his kind. They'd forced him to be. But that was no good if someone got the drop on you. The trap was sprung before he realized what was happening.

  A dozen hooded figures ghosted out of the darkness beyond the streetlamps. The fae blood in him flared as he tried to pull on his magic, but they'd cast a dampening field. The mage guild were assholes, not idiots.

  He still had his damned fists though. The dampening field muffled sound, made calling out for help impossible, even though he had a whole apartment full of strong supes not ten feet away from him.

  One busted nose, a broken leg, and a few cracked ribs later and he was stuffed into the back of his own damned car.

  "Fucking assholes," he muttered as magic crawled over his skin, draining him so he couldn't fight back. A suppression collar went around his neck and he glared up into the brown eyes of the squad leader.

  The man just shook his head in pity and pressed a button on the side of the collar. It was stupid to fight back against the guild. Everyone knew that. Halstad's whole body went rigid with the electricity pouring through him. Then, thank fuck, he passed out.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning, I woke up with a strange, tugging feeling in my gut. I wasn't really one for anxiety, but for a minute there, I felt like I was panicking. Like something was really, really wrong.

  Hisashi rolled over and pulled me close, and I let out a relieved sigh. Everything was fine. Hisashi was right here. We'd gotte
n him back and he was never going to leave us again.

  Con's big, warm hand stroked my tangled hair out of my eyes, and he dropped a kiss on my cheek. "I'll go make us breakfast," he said softly. Hisashi's movements had pulled the blankets off the human and he gave me a rueful smile. "You might need a bigger bed," he whispered.

  He slipped out of the pile of supernaturals and padded toward the kitchen, hopefully to get coffee started.

  It wasn't long before we all trickled out to join him. Kai woke next, wrapping her arms around Hisashi and blowing in his ear until he snorted and blinked his pretty blue eyes at us in confusion.

  "Kraken," I said with a shrug. "Don't blame me."

  Kai hooked a leg around Hisashi's and kissed his ear. "Come take a bath with me? Gesa too."

  He grinned. "Are you saying I stink?"

  I laughed darkly. "She just wants to get her tentacles on you, fox. Don't fall for it."

  Oisin sat up, his choppy red hair sticking out at all angles, badly in need of a trim. But he was an asshole, so of course on him, the messy mullet look was just ridiculously sexy. Fucking fae. He blinked his emerald eyes at me, glanced at Kai and Hisashi and demanded, "wine."

  Kai rolled her eyes, but unwound from Hisashi long enough to grab the bottle of overly sweet swill out of the nightstand. She handed it to Oisin, pulling back at the last minute to taunt him, the bottle just out of his reach. "It's going to cost you."

  The sleep-rumpled fae narrowed his eyes and I saw my old Oisin, always focused on only two things. "Oh?" he all but purred.

  Kai leaned across, making Hisashi grunt as he got a lap-full of curvy kraken. "Yes."

  Oisin glanced at me and I saw a flutter of his lingering unease. His memory was still patchy. His confidence not what it used to be, as the sleep fog cleared from his mind.

  I smiled. "Don't let her make you uncomfortable," I said, giving Kai a quelling look. Then I glanced at Oisin again, "but you…well you were into her before. All of them really. You're a walking cock, my friend."